The very first Thangka Art Course in Sri Lanka!

Read all about this wonderful recent trip with Ven. Banthe and Carmen MensinkThis combination of an Art retreat & Sightseeing tour will be held again within a few years’ time. A similar Thangka Painting course in Nepal (with sightseeing) is coming up as well, and will probably be held in 2019.
When you sign up for the Newsletter, we will keep you updated!

This site shows Carmen Mensink’s Thangka Paintings and the Thangka Drawing & Painting Courses that she offers in many different countries – most of them are also suitable for people with no drawing or painting skills whatsoever.

Carmen can also be commissioned to paint a thangka of your choice, or to let her gild & paint your Buddha statues, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the Thangka Shop you can find presents for yourself and others.

Tibetan Buddhist Art

In Tibet, the painting of thangkas was an important andhighly developedmeans of expression through which the entire Buddhist philosophy could be explained. And it still has this function: thangkas are used in temples & monasteries and are hung above the altars to support the Buddhist meditation and practice.
The Chinese invasion in Tibet in the 1950’s and the destruction of a lot of old Tibetan traditions and monasteries makes it even more important to keep this beautiful tradition alive and pure.

Classes & Courses

Carmen Mensink offers workshops in Tibetan Buddhist Art in Europe, United States and Asia.

Most courses are for both beginners and advanced, and all courses come with a guided meditation, slide shows and talks on the symbolism of the subject (a Tibetan Buddha, Mandala or Symbol), and a lot of individual guidance.

Carmen offers day classes and weekend courses in Buddha drawing, as well as in-depth thangka painting retreats that last a week or longer.

Private Workshops

She also offers individual teachings on thangka drawing and painting, for those who rather work one on one with a teacher instead of being in a group. There’s a lot of guidance and a lot of time to answer your questions.
Private classes can be taken by the more advanced students as well as the ones who have never even touched a pencil in their life (and will be surprised about their hidden talents!)

Art & Testimonials

Carmen passes on the Art of Tibetan Thangka to her students with a lot of joy and dedication. She inspires them to reach their full potential in art and at the same time inspires them to go inside, meditate and check their mind and work on its potential, according to the Buddhist philosophy – which is inseparable from Buddhist Art.

It doesn’t matter if people have drawing and painting experience or not, most important is the joy they experience during the courses and what’s going on inside themselves – which undoubtedly will be expressed in their artwork.

A Tibetan Buddhist Mandala is a diagram of geometric patterns. Each Buddha has his own mandala, which can be seen as the universe or palace in which the particular deity resides.
Each part of a Tibetan mandala has deep symbolism behind it, which you will learn during the mandala drawing and painting classes with Carmen Mensink.

Lectures and Articles on Tibetan Buddhist Art

During her classes, Carmen always gives one or more slide shows and talks on the subject, for example a Buddha and his mantra, to explain the meaning and symbolism behind it.
She is also regularly asked to give lectures on different subjects in Tibetan Buddhist Art, at museums, universities and Buddhist centers, and writes articles on Buddhist Art, which are added to the Media & Publications page.